Increasingly regimented training programs are being implemented in bedridden patients, first in the early course of convalescence and second during formal rehabilitation. Thirdly, such activity continued into the patient's everyday life, post rehabilitation, at an enhanced level of activity usually proves beneficial.
While the methods and results of the second and third stages of the above course of treatment are well documented, the earlier stage which occurs from the first moment of bed rest or complete inactivation, is less well studied or catered for.
As the prognosis for those with motor impairment improves due to progress and research into neural transplantation, functional electrical stimulation, and stimulation of nueral regeneration, it becomes increasingly important to institute exercise procedures as early as possible in their rehabilitation. In bedridden patients this should combat functional degeneration. The rehabilitation device of the present application is able to offer any level of exercise in awake or unconscious patients, compatible with the integrity of their functional systems, as medically prescribed.
Devices for exercising or moving the legs and/or arms of a person in a supine or partially raised position, such as bedridden patients, are known in the prior art. Examples of such devices include those described and illustrated in U.S. Pats. Nos. 2,062,300 to Erickson, 3,455,295 to Kellogg, 3,596,654 to Tamura, 3,661,149 to Ferries, 3,848,870 to Craig, 3,895,623 to Mahlandt et al, 4,282,865 to Pogue, and also in Canadian Patent Nos. 340,347 to Davison and 1,180,242 to Ventura. Other exercising devices which are not necessarily restricted to bedridden patients includes U.S. 3,744,480 to Gause, U.S. 3,964,742 to Carnielli, U.S. 3,991,749 to Zent and U.S. 4,358,105 to Sweeney Jr. All of these devices illustrate the state of the art for exercise devices useful both for bedridden patients and those more active. Many of these devices utilize mechanical drive means which do not have the ability to adjust in the same way as the present device utilizing fluid principles. Thus these prior art devices do not have the versatility presently needed to rehabilitate bedridden patients today.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a rehabilitation exercise device utilizing hydraulics to provide versatility to take into account different patient requirements in both an active and passive mode. It is a further aim of the present invention to control force requirements with precision with high sensitivity to subject's response to initiated movement and to obtain negative feedback from spend and force of movement whether the machine is operated in the passive or active mode.
It is a further aim to provide a machine that is sensitive to any initiated movement that is suddenly resisted by the patient due to muscular spasms and the like. In a preferred embodiment there is provided a connection to a heart beat monitoring device, such that a change in the rate of heart beat would immediately reset the patient and machine to a neutral condition.
The present invention provides a computer controlled rotary hydraulic device suitable for producing both passive and active movements and to take into account muscle contractions that may occur while attempting to forcibly stretch the muscles. In a preferred embodiment a multi model rehabilitation exercise device may be provided with one exercise head to be used for the legs and a second exercise head for the arms.
The present invention provides an exercise device for offering different levels of exercise for an individual, the device comprising an exercise head having at least one pair of crank arms for rotation of limbs of the individual about an axial shaft, a hydraulic motor linked to the axial shaft to rotate the crank arms with hydraulic power source for the motor, speed adjustment means in association with the hydraulic motor to set rotational speed of the axial shaft, force adjustment means to adjust force applied to the limbs through the crank arms, to rotate the axial shaft beyond a set rotational speed, speed sensing means to sense variation in the speed of the axial shaft, and force sensing means to sense variation in force applied to the crank arms by the limbs of the individual.